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4 Dec 2024 21:45
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  •   Home > News > International

    The celebrity look-alike craze is about more than bragging rights. Here's why the contests are so popular

    Over the past month, a pandemic of look-alike contests have swept the globe, prompting clusters of men with the vaguest resemblances of celebrities to gather in parks.


    Have you been told you look like someone famous?

    You could be cut out for a look-alike contest.

    In recent weeks, pop culture doppelgangers have descended on parks and public squares across the US and UK to battle it out for the coveted title of best look-alike, cash prizes, and bragging rights.

    The internet's favourite 'it' boys have all been featured such as Timothee Chalamet, Harry Styles and Paul Mescal.

    Even Australia's own Dom Dolla has been represented via hundreds of men with moustaches.

    Early last week, Triple J Drive decided to run the contest.

    Drive presenters Tyrone and Abby said they were "absolutely" influenced by the contests they've seen over in the UK and US.

    "With the rise of celebrity look-alikes happening across the world, we thought it would be fun to try our own but on a national (and some international) scale across radio and socials," they said.

    "We had over 250 Dom Dolla look-alikes apply from every state and territory and quite a few international.

    "All we needed was a man with a stache and mullet, and in this country, there is no shortage."

    Look-alike contests, drag performances and impersonators of icons — from Elvis Presley to Marilyn Monroe — have been around for decades.

    But here's why this craze has been going viral.

    Where did the celebrity look-alike craze start?

    It all began when a New York City-based contest was launched to find a Timothee Chalamet look-alike.

    Posters advertising the contest appeared across Manhattan and social media in the weeks leading up to the event.

    On the fateful Sunday, thousands of Chalamet wannabes, journalists and spectators gathered.

    The winner, 21-year-old Miles Mitchell, earned the loudest applause, donning a Willy Wonka costume he thrifted.

    Chalamet himself even made a surprise appearance — prompting others to organise their own contest in the hopes their favourite celeb would turn up.

    The event took social media by storm, with one person commenting on X it was a "historic pop culture moment".

    Why are they taking off?

    Lauren Rosewarne, an associate professor and pop culture expert at the University of Melbourne, has an idea about why these contests are so popular.

    "Celebrity look-alike contests are yet another way to participate in celebrity culture," Ms Rosewarne said.

    "They are also social opportunities that are a bit fun and silly and potentially an opportunity for participants and onlookers to be part of a media event."

    Flinders University associate lecturer Katharine Perrotta says their popularity was indicative of broader trends in youth culture.

    "There's a certain appeal towards deeply un-serious activities, given various overwhelming political crises," Ms Perrotta said.

    "I also think that these contests offer an option for a non-threatening way to engage in public desire.

    "Because of their position as 'vintage objects', these contests offer an opportunity for people to engage in objectification in ways that are perceived as less predatory or 'problematic'."

    And when it comes to what it could mean for a contest winner, Ms Rosewarne imagines that someone "distinctly entrepreneurial might be able to parlay their success into certain kinds of influencing".

    Social media driving the events

    Caitlin Adams, lecturer in the department of media at the University of Adelaide, says social media has made it easier to spread the discussion about these events.

    "Its capacity to allow users and media outlets to post and reply to updates in real time is a large reason why these events are going viral," Ms Adams said.

    "Also, the idea that a celebrity might attend feeds into the fantasy of it all.

    "This perceived possibility is exacerbated at the moment because of Chalamet's attendance, but also some of the folklore about other celebrities attending their own contests and losing."

    Dolly Parton and Charlie Chaplin are some names that get tossed around for this.

    All the subjects have been male

    Our fascination with celebrity look-alikes is nothing new.

    Television game show Stars In Their Eyes allowed look-alike contestants to impersonate their favourite singers.

    But the latest competitions have one thing in common — the celebrities are all young and male.

    It's a complete switch in the traditional power dynamics.

    "There is a very long history of beauty pageants centred around appraising women's appearances," Ms Rosewarne said.

    "I imagine that there would be concerns that having a look-alike competition for a famous woman lends itself to being a bit too "beauty contest"-ish and veering a little too close to the scrutinising of women's bodies that is widely understood to already be prolific and often viewed as problematic.

    "The contests centred around male celebrity look-alikes tend to be less about "beauty" and more about capturing "something" that makes the celebrity unique looking."

    This could link back to the 'hot rodent men' trend that was all the rage earlier this year.

    These men tend to have lean physiques, scruffy hair, beady eyes — essentially, they're unconventionally attractive.

    The likes of Jeremy Allen White, Timothee Chalamet, Barry Keoughan and Matty Healy (among others) have all been classified in this category — and two of them have had a look-alike contest in their honour.

    Ms Perrotta says it's simpler to engage in this kind of desire in regards to men, because it's not understood to be dangerous to them.

    "For a youth culture that is aware of the dangerous effects of the public objectification leading to the dehumanisation of women, it is far too politically fraught to wade into those waters," she said.

    "To publicly judge a woman in any way on her appearance, no matter how innocent the impetus for this may be, aligns too closely with misogyny."

    What will happen if we do see a female celebrity look-alike contest?

    According to a flyer posted on Reddit, a Zendaya look-alike contest — the first competition with a female subject — is set to be held in the actress' hometown of Oakland, California this week.

    Users on Reddit have expressed their concern for the event.

    "I don't think this is a very good idea. Some of the male celebrity ones have been funny, but I think that people are too likely to start getting very mean about girls participating in Hollywood actress look-alike competitions," one user wrote.

    "People are going to be really mean about this one," another said.

    Ms Perrotta says it's difficult to gauge what the response will be at a female event.

    "There is always the opportunity for bad actors to comment and/or share the event on social media to a broader and more dangerous online community.

    "Given that Zendaya, and presumably those who will enter this contest, are Black women, this further opens up the possibility for harassment and misogynoir."

    Will the craze fizzle out?

    Who knows how long these viral look-alike contests will be coming to bless us.

    But, one thing we do know is that, right now, they're still happening.

    Another Paul Mescal competition is set to go ahead in an Irish Pub in London this week, Miles Teller in Philadelphia, plus Zendaya's as well.

    Ms Adams says the sheer number of these events currently is in part because of the pop culture hype around them.

    "That said, given how long we've been having look-alike contests, it's likely that these will continue once the current hype has passed, just with much less fanfare."

    Meanwhile, Ms Rosewarne believes the hype will deteriorate as "audiences will very quickly move onto something else".

    Here's a look at some of the contests we've seen so far.

    Journalist Katrina Mirpuri organised this contest in Soho Square.

    She told the BBC the reason why she started it was because "people need to have some fun after all the dreary news we're having".

    Zayn Malik fans were quick to criticise the look-alike contest, stating it drew less than realistic expectations.

    "None of them looked anything like him," one user wrote on X.

    "Zayn I'm so sorry," another commented.


    ABC




    © 2024 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

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